Every three years Kevin Andrews and his wife Margaret book themselves in for a joint ­session on a marriage counsellor’s couch — or the workshop, as he prefers. They have a solid and loving 35-year marriage, he insists, but he likens his relationship to the modern motor car. “It might last a lifetime,” the Minister for Social Services explains from a couch in his Melbourne electoral office as modern motor cars scurry along Doncaster Road, “but usually we get it serviced every two or three years.”

Most children abandoned are found dead and more could die if baby safe havens are not introduced in Australia, experts say. To prevent abandoned babies from dying, the US and other parts of the world have introduced places where a mother may anonymously leave her child after birth without fear of prosecution. Labor senator Helen Polley has lobbied for the introduction of baby safe havens for more than a decade.

Sexy ads bug Geelong people more than the average Australian, new figures suggest. Advertising Standards Bureau said the use of sex and nudity was behind Geelong complaint rates up to three times the national average.

The Q&A protesters then started chanting: ‘‘No cuts, no fees, no corporate universities.’’ Ridah Hassan, Education Officer at the Sydney University Student Representative Council, told News Corp Australia they were immediately ejected after the vocal protest took place where 150 people had gathered for the minister’s speech.

The largest Aboriginal medical service in the Northern Territory has slammed the Abbott government's $7 GP co-payment policy. And medical experts say the policy could widen the gap between indigenous and non-indigenous health.

State premiers are demanding an "emergency" meeting to discuss an immediate multibillion-dollar shortfall in health and education funding from Canberra. NSW Premier Mike Baird said the $80 billion in cuts to health and education projected in Tuesday's federal budget "cannot proceed".

Polls reveal a dramatic slump in support for the government and Prime Minister following the budget. The harshest and most unpopular federal budget in nearly two decades has slashed support for Tony Abbott's Coalition government before it has even reached its first anniversary, plunging it into a potential poll trough from which it might never recover.

Pornography is so widespread in the US that it deserves to be addressed seriously as a major public health crisis, a panel of activists says. On the eve of a two-day conference on sexual exploitation, they suggested that porn be tackled in the same manner as teenage smoking or drunk driving.